Judi Cooks Here!

strawberry tart recipe

I had an extra pie crust, some strawberries and a dinner with friends. I had said I’d bring the dessert. Since I made strawberry pie the day before for another friend I wanted to do something a little different. I decided to go with a tart. I also know the host of the dinner is mad for chocolate so I wanted to incorporate chocolate into the dessert. Here is the dessert I ended up with. It was a big hit and I plan on doing something similar with raspberries soon.

Amy’s Strawberry Chocolate Tart

1 pie crust- homemade or store bought*

1 cup chocolate chips- or 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

2 T. butter

1 qt. fresh strawberries, washed and stem ends sliced off

Strawberry glaze:

1 c. strawberries, chopped

1/2 c. sugar, or to taste

1/4 c. water

1 T. cornstarch

Using a tart pan, roll out your crust and fit it into the pan- trim off any excess. Pre-bake your crust. To do this the prepared pie crust should be pricked all over with a fork. Cover the surface with foil and then pie weights. I use dry beans for my pie weights. Pre-heat oven to 400-degrees. Bake crust for 15-20 minutes. Check to be sure it doesn’t get too brown. Remove weights and foil and cool until ready to use. While crust is baking you can prepare the strawberry glaze. Combine 1 cup berries and sugar in small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook five minutes, mashing the berries a little. Strain out the solids and return the liquid to the pan. Combine the water with the cornstarch and add to the strawberry liquid, cooking until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat to cool. Combine chocolate and butter in microwave- safe dish and microwave on high for 45 seconds to a minute . Stir mixture until smooth- you might need to nuke it a few more seconds. Spread melted chocolate over the bottom of the tart crust. Press the berries into the chocolate- pointed side up. Once the tart is full of berries spoon some of the glaze over the berries and chill at least an hour before serving. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Serves 6.

Half and Half Dough*

This is a great crust for liquid fillings like custard type pies and fresh fruit pies.
¼ c. butter, room temp
½ c. shortening, room temp- you can use lard instead
¼ c. sugar
½ t. salt
2½ c. pastry or all purpose flour
1/8 t. baking powder
¼ c. milk
1 t. lemon juice
Cream together the first 4 ingredients until smooth. Mix together the flour and baking powder. Set aside. Combine milk with the juice and set aside. Stir ½ c. of the flour into butter mixture. Stir until smooth. Add a little of the milk, stirring until smooth. Add remaining ingredients alternately until finished. Dough will firm up once chilled. Chill at least 4 hours before using. Makes 2 crusts.